Unifying the optics and the acoustics

Ten sound engineers are on duty at a performance of Der Freischütz to ensure the acoustics are good, even at an open air event. In an interview Clemens Wannemacher, head of the Sound department, explains exactly what it is they do.

Opera on the lake stage is unusual in many ways. What are the main challenges for sound engineers?
Our aim is to offer the audience a listening experience that comes very close to what you get in an opera house. On the lake stage we have no orchestra pit, no ceiling and walls, in short: not the natural acoustics of an enclosed space. We therefore try to recreate this spatial impression using microphones and loudspeakers on the stage and in the seating area. And it’s extremely important to unify the optical impression and the acoustic impression.

What does that involve?
The distances on the lake stage are considerable. It’s as much as 100 metres between the stage and the top row seat. It’s impossible to tell with the naked eye who is singing. For the audience it’s hard work. So it’s our job to provide orientation by means of directional hearing, as it’s called. We always amplify exactly at the spot where a singer is currently positioned. If he or she is moving, we also reproduce that in the sound. For that purpose we’ve fitted 66 speakers just in the stage set; altogether there are 400. The more relaxed the audience is when listening, the easier it is to engage with the music, the action and the emotions.

What part does sound technology play from your point of view?
We are an essential part of the performance. That’s because the orchestra sits in the Festspielhaus building and wouldn’t be heard at all without amplification. We have a big responsibility here and can influence the dynamics, for example. The most obvious factor is the volume. If the ambient noise allows it, we can turn the volume down a little in a quiet passage and then turn it up in a louder passage.

What are the specific features of the Freischütz production for your team?
Unlike many other operas, it’s sung in German – the audience expects to understand the vocal parts. On top of that there’s a lot of dialogue, about 40 percent dialogue compared to 60 percent singing. It’s our job to amplify well, especially the dialogue, without risking feedback.

What’s important to director Philipp Stölzl when it comes to sound?
He has made many films and also thinks of this opera in very cinematic terms. In practice, this means for us that there are at least three levels of sound. The most important is the dialogue, then there’s music from musicians on the stage, plus a kind of sound carpet. In this gloomy setting, that could be a crow or a howling wolf, for example. It’s a challenge to combine these sound levels in such a way that they make sense. Above all, they must never ruin the dialogue. And in addition there are special recordings, for instance when the snake emerges from the water. There are about 200 effects in total. Madame Butterfly was the complete opposite – we had only one single recording, the cannon shot.

(tb)